


A Better Beginning

by Identiaetslos



Series: Alex Ryder Story Arcs [14]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F, Minor Nexus Uprising Spoilers, Prequel, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 15:26:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15584922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Identiaetslos/pseuds/Identiaetslos
Summary: I got inspired to write dialogue between Jien Garson, Alec Ryder, and Foster Addison based on a screenshot of Jien and Alec in their armor sets. Was an excuse to write dialogue between Jien and Addison along with events from Addison's perspective. Also gave a chance to write a low-key ship between Addison and T"Vaan, who is a character in Nexus Uprising.It is the day before launch, Jien, Alec, and Foster are taking in the final moments in the Milky Way before the embark on their journey to Andromeda.





	A Better Beginning

"Look at it!" Jien Garson’s voice was loud in Foster Addison’s helmet. In her Heads Up Display, she saw her wave emphatically at the sight of Ark Hyperion as it hovered just off the edge of the lunar horizon.

Garson stood with Alec Ryder, a former N7-rated Alliance officer with a history far more colorful than most in the Initiative, but whose vision and technological marvels had, in no small part, helped Jien’s vision come alive.

Why they had come out here had been on Jien’s insistence and a part of her brilliance: Knowing how nervous Foster was and how pessimistic Alec was, she wanted her left and right hands to see for themselves the thing that they had all created.

Even though Foster hated space suits and being anywhere that required one, she admitted to being awestruck by the sight of Earth before her, even more marvelous than she remembered. Where they were going, there were planets even more spectacular; one of which would become just as beloved.

A small smile stretched on the corner of Addison’s mouth and she turned to the Director and founder of the Initiative and Alec Ryder, the Human Pathfinder. Jien wore a newly-minted pressure suit like Foster. It was specifically designed by the finest craftsmen in the Milky Way, sparkling in its blue and white color pattern with fresh Andromeda Initiative symbols on the helmet and shoulder plates. Jien made it look good. She didn’t have to be able to see Garson’s face, shrouded behind her darkened helmet, to know she was beaming at seeing the fruits of years of hard work.

Alec stood beside her, dressed in a specialized N7 suit. Average size for a human, Jien’s small stature made him look like a giant. He seemed less impressed, but not disappointed. “Relieved” was the best word for him.

Intended to be the Director of Colonial Affairs, interfacing directly with Alec’s team once they arrived, Foster had worked closely with Alec as well as Jien over the last several months. Where Jien was hopeful and carefree, Alec was cautious and realisitic. The two contrasts worked well, and Foster was confident that, barring any unforeseen difficulties, the team that Jien had managed to collect in her brilliance, was one geared for success.

It was also difficult not to share in Jien’s excitement. “It's a marvel," Foster said, following their gaze.

"Indeed it is. Like a painting, only it's real."

"Our journey is the canvas and we are the oil..." Foster said, her voice trailing off. Hyperion was a safe distance away, but its sheer size made it seem deceptively close. Light from the sun caressed the hull gently like a mother saying goodbye to her children.

"Well said." Alec's voice cut in after a few moments.

"You're such a poet." Jien said it jokingly, but she was sincere. "You know...we never really talked about this, but why did you agree to join me?" 

Addison turned away from the sight before them. "I was bored," she said bluntly. This got a laugh out of Jien and Alec turned to her. "Really. And I suppose you could say, dissatisfied. Like that one ingredient in an otherwise perfect dish that sticks in the back of your mouth. Like life could be even better, but somehow, I had been conditioned to accept mediocrity soured by stale tradition as something to be considered happy."

"You crave the spice of life." Jien seemed surprised and pleased. "From comfy office to colonizing a new galaxy.." she said and patted her again. 

Excited was one emotion that Foster felt. Apprehension was another. So many things were still unfinished; loose ends that would forever remained untied in this galaxy, and those that had the possibility of following them to the next, she hoped that this new adventure would be enough to leave them to the dust of time.

Now was the time for hope, wasn't it? Even if that hope was blind.

As if sensing Foster’s apprehension, Jien touched Foster's shoulder soothingly. "And always the worrier," she said with humor in her voice. She was so good at disarming someone that way.

Jien had that funny way of disarming someone in a single moment. Nothing had been solved, but Foster felt less agitated than she did before and reminded of the brilliance of the woman she followed into this...uncertainty. Leaving the European Province hadn't been easy, but Garson's promise of adventure gave strength to Foster's chance to be daring. Not that she had any trouble being daring. However, Doctor Kennedy had been right in that life had gotten...stale.

"It would be foolish for us to think there won't be problems to solve when we arrive," Jien continued, making her way back to a Nomad all-terrain vehicle parked nearby. She motioned for Addison to follow and then glanced at Alec who climbed into the driver’s seat.

Jien halted for a moment and with a giggle, bunny-hopped in the low gravity the rest of the way to the all-terrain vehicle, lunar dust kicking up around her and floating back down to the surface. “I always love doing that,” Jien remarked, looking back at her friend.

Addison had no such compunction for such silliness, but an urging from Garson prompted her to give it a couple of jumps. She had forgotten how easy it was to lose control in the low gravity and caught the edge of her foot on a stone and tumbled to the ground.

Jien laughed and helped Addison to her feet. “Like one of those inflatable houses at a birthday party, huh?”

“Except, without oxygen,” Foster quipped and dusted her gloves and helmet off.

“Just imagine what it’s going to be like in Andromeda,” Jien said triumphantly and gave Foster a pat on her shoulder.

“Gotta be steady on your feet, Foster,” Alec chided in what passed as humor for him. It was also an excuse to dig at Director Addison’s insistence in addressing him familiarly. No disrespect was meant; it was meant as a challenge. Nobody had earned their titles at this point. Except for Jien. That was, however, soon to change, and she let him know with a respectful nod.

He nodded in return as they boarded.

"But that's why I have you," Jien said brightly as they got underway. "We've been at this for a long time, Foster. What we have to lose is more valuable than anything that we have to preserve from this life. You understand that better than anyone."

"Yes, Director," Foster said quietly as the vehicle puttered back into the bay at Lunar Site Alpha.

"Well...except me," Garson said with a laugh. She pulled off her helmet and shook out her short, dark hair. Her statement hung in the air as a misty reminder of everything that got them to this point; things that Foster knew about and didn’t want to think on too deeply, and things that she didn’t know about and didn’t want to think about too deeply.

Foster pulled off her own helmet and ran a gloved hand through her short, red hair. Her fingertips smelled ashy of moon dust and she allowed herself to savor it. One last memory of home, she thought. No...this wasn’t home any longer.

Squinting through the window, Foster tried to see through the blinding light reflecting off the pale dust as it scattered beneath the wheels. Somewhere out there was Andromeda, their destination. Unfortunately, in all this tumult, it was impossible to see. Soon enough, it would be up close, she reassured herself, and being one of the first awake, she would have an excellent vantage point. A new home. A new galaxy. It was really happening.

“You and I will need to have a toast later,” Jien said. “I’ve never seen you this happy.”

Turning back, Foster put her emotions away and rolled her eyes. She glanced at the back of Alec Ryder, who seemed to be doing his best at ignoring her.

“I’m reminded of something one of my professors used to quote me, ‘Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace,’” Addison quoted.

“Amelia Earhart,” Ryder said quietly. “Let’s hope we have better luck, shall we?”

“Don’t be dour, Alec,” Jien scolded in a pleasant tone as they pulled into the Lunar base and disembarked.

Alec pulled off his helmet. “I’m heading to the shuttle,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone and left the two of them in the hangar.

The ride to the Nexus was quiet for the most part, aside from little bits of small talk meant to fill the air. Alec had taken his leave of the two women and sat in the cockpit, no doubt giving the shuttle pilot a migraine with questions and his flavor of backseat driving. Foster didn’t envy the pilot in the least bit, but, at the same time, she was also grateful for the peace and quiet, and for the opportunity to change into her civilian uniform. Much more comfortable, and much less of a reminder that just beyond the hull of the ship lay chaos and certain death.

Arrival meant the start of a huge gala, a banquet to end all banquets. Booze, music, and speeches from everyone in the Initiative that wanted to stand in front of a microphone and blather. Addison was not one of these. Instead, she hoped for quiet reflection and a glass of champagne. Maybe mingle with other members of Initiative leadership, like Matriarch Nuara and Inik Hatesh who greeted them the moment the shuttle docked.

“Director Addison,” Nuara greeted warmly. “A little moon dust has done so much for your complexion.” The compliment was dripping with the light flirtation that came with Nuara. Oh she was a hardened soldier, but she had been trying for Foster ever since she found out about the little fling with T’Vaan.

“Thank you,” Addison said dryly, making a note not to fall for Nuara’s attempt this time. She was beautiful as most asari were, but not that beautiful.

The three of them made their way into a room that was to be the Operations Center for the entire station. Other members of the Initiative; the Alliance; some private business owners; ambassadors from the core Council Worlds, including the new representative from Earth; the press, including a branch that Jien was already calling the Heleus New Service; and Nexus Leadership as well.

Caterers from one of the businesses that had offered to open up shops on the Nexus on arrival were milling around with drink trays. Suddenly, feeling overwhelmed, Addison flagged one down and relished the crisp flavor on her tongue and the slight burn of alcohol.

Realization of what they were about to do was bright in her mind again, as was the apprehension.

Alec and Jien had broken off to talk to a few reporters: Three young gentlemen, and a young asari, who were eating up soundbites from the two of them as though someone had upended Jien and Alec into a fish tank and were tapping out flakes for waiting mouths.

Not as fond of the press as her colleagues, Addison hung back and looked around the room, taking stock of everyone, dressed in their best clothes and smiled behind either tears of joy or tears of loss. Sipping on another glass of champagne, she took another one from a tray and ventured into a corner near what was to be the office of the Nexus Superintendent for some of that quiet reflection she promised herself.

Opening the door, she was greeted by a small circle of what looked to be Security personnel huddled around the coffee table and a deck of cards. A surly looking dark-skinned woman with a veteran’s bearing and brilliant heterochromatic eyes looked up, both startled and annoyed at being interrupted.

The woman gestured to an empty seat next to an already sweaty looking man. “Ante is at 200 if you’re daring,” the woman said, straightening, a smirk lighted her thin lips. She wore the dark uniform tunic of Security, and in the current light, Addison could make out the name S. KELLY. 

Addison vaguely remembered her at a few of the meetings. Aloof and and a typical meatheaded ex-soldier that seemed to find their way into law enforcement. The other officers around her sat up and regarded Addison with mixed curiosity and suspiciousness in a way that made the hairs raise on the back of her neck.

All she wanted was a bit of piece and quiet. “I’m not playing,” Foster said coolly, eyeing the cards and the other people sitting with her. Squaring herself to Kelly, she added, “shouldn’t you be minding security?”

Kelly sighed curtly. “Yeah.” She waved to her crowd who dispersed. Gathering up the cards and taking a drink from a nearby bottle, she looked up, the light catching her chiseled features just so and she growled between her teeth, “no rest for the wicked right?”

As she was leaving, Kelly stopped in front of Addison and took the second glass of champagne that was in Addison's hand and sipped. “Sloane Kelly, Director of Security. I think we've met before, but I get the sense you don't remember me,” she introduced and held out a meaty, ungloved hand.

Addison took her hand. She marveled that it was just as calloused as she imagined. “Foster Addison, Director of Colonial Affairs.” She shook it and tried to put it out of her mind that even in her uncouth nature, there was something about the Security Director that piqued Addison's curiosity. She was also attractive in a frustratingly puzzling manner.

“Sure you don’t want to play?” Sloane asked, another smirk on her face. “I’m up for taking anyone’s money. Not like there will be much use for it once we arrive.”

Addison snorted. “You do know we all have salary codes,” she said flatly.

“And what economy? Might as well wipe our digital asses with them once we get there.”

“No.” Addison declined again with a blink.

Sloane’s breath smelled like enough alcohol that returning to duty was probably not a good idea. In her current state, and with how bloody arrogant she was, challenging her at cards was tempting. Being the investigator that Jien hired her for, Sloane seemed to catch on and tilted her head at the table.

“In another life,” Addison said.

“There you are!”

A voice at the door startled both of them.

It was T’Vaan. The asari was dressed in her science uniform and leaned against the open door way. She made a face, glancing at Sloane and then smirked. “Have I interrupted something?” She asked.

“ _You_ didn’t,” Sloane said evenly. Glancing at Addison and then at T’Vaan, the maddening smirk on her face worsened, “I was just leaving,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “Your welcome for the room!”

T’Vaan rolled her eyes and shrugged before advancing on Foster. Before the Director of Colonial Affairs had a chance to say anything, the asari was in her arms and her lips pressed against hers, causing the earlier stress to subside.

“You know that door is still open,” Foster said cautiously.

T’Vaan made a face and retreated to the controls and closed it. “You’re such a worrier.”

Even though the Superintendent of the Nexus was Krogan, the office that had been designed for her had every comfort that the other offices had: Plushy furniture in a sitting area, a modest desk, and cubbies, drawers, and spaces for every tool and station part Addison could think of. It was functional as well as elegant in a way that only Jien Garson could inspire.

Addison sat on the sofa that Sloane and the others had been at, wrinkling her nose slightly as the cushions were still warm.

T’Vaan sat beside her and brought out a datapad. “I wanted to show you our final figures.”

A small smile crested Foster’s lips and she leaned into T’Vaan. She smelled pleasantly of a floral perfume popular on Illium and her natural scent which Foster equated to lilacs on an ocean breeze. T’Vaan’s elegant, violet fingers danced with precision up the interface and brought up the final output readings from the telescope.

“As you can see, EM bands here and here remain unchanged since our last scan. Also stellar drift seems to be normal pattern from not only last month, but from our initial scans.”

“That’s very good news,” Addison said.

T’Vaan nodded. “Very. You know I was a little worried about the magnetar in Sector HN-1552J, but it looks like there won’t be another significant gamma burst from that for the next 5000 years.”

“So what we saw was probably a fluke.”

“Or just the natural order of things. Space might be chaotic, but it has a funny way of being organized in its chaos,” T’Vaan giggled and pocketed the datapad. “Don’t worry, I already shared our findings with Aridana. She’s outside now with Garson and the others. Which reminds me...why aren’t you?”

Foster took a deep breath. “Last I saw she was out there with cameras around her. You know me...not my cup of tea, so I came in here...to reflect.”

“Uh huh. With a deck of cards and that cute Security Officer.”

Foster made a face.

“Relax,” T’Vaan huffed a little and her brow flickered in concern. “You really are on edge,” she kissed Foster’s lips more intently and moved across the sofa, straddling her. “At this point, we’ve done everything...and you saw my scans. Unless something really terrible happens, we’re going to make it just fine.”

There was more, a lot more. Things that Foster couldn’t share with her scientist. It didn’t matter. What mattered now was the way she kissed, the way she touched, and the final moments here in the Milky Way before a new adventure began.


End file.
